Somewhat predictably, neither apprentice felt like they had enough of a grip on the Sigil to be carving it into the constructs.

  Verdan couldn’t really blame them for that, but it did mean that he was doing it all on his own. None of the horses were huge, but that was still a lot of surface area to carve.

  “Sia,” Verdan said softly, placing his hand onto the stone and focusing on the Sigil he’d memorised. The stone beneath his hand shifted as it formed the Sigil, and as he ran his hand along the statue’s flank, more and more Sigils were formed.

  This was using more Aether than he’d like, but Verdan didn’t really have too many options.

  Carving and checking the first horse took over half an hour, which meant they had three more to get the other seventeen done.

  At this pace, that was impossible.

  Fortunately, the constructs didn’t need to be fully carved to work. It would just take more Aether to keep them running without the Sigils.

  That meant it was time to test this whole idea properly.

  “Garreg challyn,” Verdan called out, filling the Words with Aether as he focused on the visualisation and intent he’d been preparing in the back of his mind since he’d first had the idea.

  Dust fell from the horse construct as Aether poured into it, and under Verdan’s direction, the construct took several steps forward.

  The construct’s gait was uneven at first, but after watching it for a few minutes, Verdan was able to reform his visualisation of the spell and recast it on the construct.

  Immediately, the construct’s gait smoothed out, and it seemed far more lifelike than before. He’d need to do further work on it, but this was a good start.

  “Well, I wasn’t sure you could do it, but that’s impressive,” Vaijon said, eyeing the stone horse with surprise. “How much can it pull?”

  “More than a normal horse,” Verdan said with a slight shrug. “Beyond that, it will depend on how much Aether I’m willing to push into it. The Sigils I have planned should be enough for what we need with only a minor top up from me.”

  “And you’ll be able to do that for all eighteen?” Vaijon asked, gesturing to the small herd of constructs that they were making.

  “For now, yes,” Verdan said, with only a minor amount of hesitation. “It uses a lot less Aether than my combat construct, so my Aether intake will support a few. The rest I’ll be able to manage with meditation and active gathering.”

  “A short term solution, then,” Vaijon said, giving Verdan a flat look when the Wizard went to argue.

  “Essentially, yes,” Verdan said, somewhat begrudgingly. “With better materials and more practice, I could do more. This is about the limit of what I can manage at the moment.”

  “And how far can they go from you?” Vaijon asked thoughtfully. “If there is a limit at all, of course.”

  “There isn’t a limit as such,” Verdan said, thinking how to best convey the constraints of this method. “There are two issues to consider. The first is that the further they go from me, the more Aether they will drain. The second is that I command them directly, so keeping them nearby is important for changing their orders to fit the situation.”

  “Ah, a shame. Is there anything I can do to help here?” Vaijon asked, lifting one hand and conjuring a momentary flicker of fire. “I can provide Essence, as I did with that trap you created.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Honestly, I wish that you could,” Verdan said, the raw longing in his voice making Vaijon chuckle. “But that was a controlled explosion, simple and direct. This, however, is far more complex. Aether is all that can be introduced safely. Perhaps stone or earth based Essence, but I’m not willing to risk it.”

  “Understood, I’ll update the commander and have some of my people drag those wagons over here. That feels like the least we can do.”

  Verdan nodded thankfully, already moving over to the next statue to start working on its Sigils. Time was of the Essence, and he’d had as much of a break as he’d allow himself.

  -**-

  True to his word, Vaijon had the wagons delivered to their working area, but even with that, Verdan didn’t finish all the horses in time.

  Eventually, he had to stop working on the Sigils and instead get them all animated and hooked up to the wagons.

  The drain on his Aether from all eighteen constructs was substantial, even with six of them bearing Aether-gathering Sigils, but it was manageable.

  Wide-eyed labourers watched as Verdan brought the nine wagons over to join the rest of the supply train. His control was a little ragged in places, but he’d have plenty of time to practice over the next few days.

  “Alright people, less gawking!” One of the more senior labourers shouted, cajoling everyone into action as they loaded up the new wagons with everything the army needed.

  “I have to admit,” Silver said, coming over to join Verdan as the last crates were squeezed in. “I’m impressed. This certainly wasn’t an option I even considered.”

  “Necessity leads us to some interesting new places,” Verdan said, feeling more than a little proud of what he’d created.

  “Well, we’ve lost time, but thanks to you, we’ve not lost people. When we end this threat, it will be that much easier thanks to you.”

  Verdan murmured his thanks as Silver left him to his thoughts.

  This field of construct creation was enthralling, and Verdan found himself wishing he’d been there during the time when the Automaton had been created.

  What he was doing now was a mere shadow of such a complex and sophisticated undertaking, but he loved it.

  Most Wizards specialised in one thing or another, but Verdan had always been a generalist. He’d delved into some more exotic magics when working with his old teacher, but even those hadn’t inspired him like this.

  Since that first time he’d created a construct, Verdan had been turning to this kind of magic more and more. Hands of animated earth, soldier constructs, and now labour constructs.

  The possibilities called to him, and Verdan longed to spend time experimenting and refining the visualisations he’d created.

  Soon.

  They just had to deal with this last Cyth Host, and then there would be time to rest.

  Taking a deep breath, Verdan let it out slowly as the labourers finished stocking the wagons.

  Sending out new instructions with a pulse of Aether, he watched as the two horse constructs drawing each wagon started forward at a slow walk.

  Shouted orders and questions rang out as the rest of the caravan did the same. They were finally underway, but the Cyth had far more of a headstart than Verdan was comfortable with.

  Still, all they could do was press on, and hope that they wouldn’t be too late to stop any more atrocities.

  -**-

  Once they were underway, everything settled into place.

  Verdan had to change where his wagon was placed in the overall group, but that was a minor change, all things considered.

  “So, why do we get the real horses, and everyone else gets the fancy constructs?” Natalia asked as Gerann faded away behind them.

  “Because if my spell fails, or if they are disrupted somehow, we’ll still be fine,” Verdan said, cracking open one eye to share an amused look with her.

  He was sitting at the front with Natalia, but almost all of his focus was on actively working his gathering spiral.

  The spiral was always passively working, thanks to the ability Wizards held to partition their minds, but this was different.

  By bringing the spiral into focus and giving it his direct attention, Verdan could drastically increase its output.

  It left him unable to do much of anything else, and it was mentally tiring, but it was also quite effective.

  Unfortunately, with all these new constructs slowly but steadily draining him dry, Verdan had little option but to spend at least a few hours like this.

  “There,” he said, his voice husky as he realised how dry his throat had become. “That should be enough to last until the morning, as long as I get enough done.”

  “Enough of what?” Natalia asked, looking a little concerned.

  “Sigils,” Verdan said as he cracked his neck and stretched. He’d made the mistake of doing all that while sat in a slightly awkward position.

  An amateur mistake on his part, brought on by his urge to quickly gather as much Aether as he could.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “No, but don’t worry. I’ve got Dirk and Magnus learning the Sigil, so they should be able to help with tomorrow’s Sigil work.”

  “Tomorrow, but won’t you be finishing them tonight?”

  “Perhaps, but I can’t spend all evening working on them. It depends on how quickly I can work through them.”

  Natalia nodded, but Verdan could see the worried look in her eyes. She understood enough that she didn’t ask him to try and slow down or pace himself, though.

  They simply didn’t have the time for that.